AFLAC taps Lake as Japan chief

The Japan branch of American Family Life Assurance Co. of Columbus said Monday it named Vice President Charles D. Lake II to succeed Hidefumi Matsui as president.

Matsui, 58, will become chairman on Jan. 1, and Yoshiki Otake, 63, the current chairman, will become an adviser.

The change is aimed at rejuvenating management, the company said.

Lake, 40, served as the director for Japan affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative before joining a law firm in 1995. He joined the U.S. insurer group in 1999 and assumed the vice presidency of AFLAC Japan in September 2001.